A new trend has started in Punjab, where the officers involved in different kinds of corruption have made Canada a hideout for them.
According to rules and regulations, no government officer cannot take PR or green card of any other country till the tie they are in service.
Some of the officers don’t seem to pay much heed to this rule as according to the reports around 130 officers in service have taken PR of the other country.
According to the Vigilance Chief, Varinder Kumar, “two new trends have come up in Punjab. The employees and officers take PR of other countries and send all the money earned from corruption to that country. The two trends that have come up are, firstly the officers get PR of other countries, then send their spouse and children to that country. The money earned from all wrong activities is also sent to that country and as soon as they get to know that they are about to be caught, they leave India and get settled abroad. The other pattern that these officers follow is they send their children on a study visa and send the money to them. The time their children get settled overseas, they find out the right moment and leave the country.”
He also added that in 2015, a report came out which revealed that around 125 officers are there who either have Green Card or citizenship from other countries. This list was then sent to the government and action was requested against them according to the rules.
He impressed upon the point further, “when the officers go for ex-India leave, at that time only their passports should be checked and if anyone has PR of another country then strict action against those should be initiated.”
He has assured that he has taken up the matter and will soon find all the culprits.
Till now two cases of this have come up in Punjab.
Rakesh Singla, Deputy Director Food and Supply Department received the PR of Canada in the year 2006. He went abroad many times but as he did not apply for ex-India leave, so he never came under the radar. Reportedly, Singla has been charge-sheeted 7 times so far. Singla was charge-sheeted 4 times in cases of embezzlement of Rs 10 crore in Raiya, Rs 50 crore in Tarn Taran, Rs 25 crore and Rs 61 lakh. Singla was also once charge-sheeted in the case of non-filing of tax returns of the department. He was charge-sheeted again in 2017. Now in 2022 also, the department first charge-sheeted him, but he did not appear in the investigation. Hence, he was dismissed. The question is that even though his record was not correct, the department did not keep an eye on him.
The second case that has come up is of Gurinder Singh. He was the inspector of Patiala-1 center PUNSUP. He embezzled 2 thousand of wheat sacks worth Rs 3 crore 13 lakh 22 thousand 138 from the warehouse. The department investigated the case and when they reached to find him, they got to know that he had fled abroad. According to the department, Gurinder Singh had applied for leave on July 18, but it was rejected. Later Gurinder Singh fled to Canada without information.
Malwinder Singh Kang, AAP spokesperson said, “this trend has been going on from the time of Akali Dal and Congress. Vigilance Bureau is doing a great job. All those who have done corruption and fled abroad will be brought back to India and put behind the bars.
Vigilance Bureau has arrested as many as 135 govt officials including 25 gazetted officers for accepting illegal gratification in 5 months. The Vigilance Bureau has also nabbed around 80 private individuals. Over 210 persons arrested for corruption since the new term of govt in Punjab